


Whāngai (Adopt)

by I_have_a_Mycroft_of_my_very_own



Series: Malec One Shots [18]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Adoption, Alec's like 'at least ask me first?! Wtf', In which Magnus keeps adopting strays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-09 17:42:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18642934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_have_a_Mycroft_of_my_very_own/pseuds/I_have_a_Mycroft_of_my_very_own
Summary: Raphael discovers the downsides to being alive again, Magnus intends to be the Oprah of adopting strays (you get adopted, and you get adopted, and you get adopted), Alec would just like it if he actually had some sort of say in the matter...





	Whāngai (Adopt)

**Author's Note:**

> I've been so sick these last few days, and my muse can't make up their mind. I think I've started five different fics in the last three days alone!!
> 
> You can pry Fourteen/Fifteen year old Raphael from my cold, dead hands!!!!!
> 
> Whāngai: the māori cultural tradition of formally or informally taking in a child that is not yours by birth (normally a relative) and raising them as if they were your own. For my family, we refer to such children as having been 'whāngai'd in' or 'whāngai'd out' of the family, especially when discussing the family tree.
> 
> Might expand on this later...

It’s a few days after the world almost ends, but doesn’t, and everything sorts itself out. Alec wanders out into the living room and stops to frown at the teenager sitting on the couch, reading through one of Magnus’ many, many, many books. The teen looks vaguely familiar, but Alec can’t quite figure out why.

“What are you doing here? How did you get in?” Alec asks, watching them with narrowed eyes.

“Hey, Lightwood, don’t mind me, just waiting for Magnus.” The teen answers, not looking up from the book. “Glad he got the loft back and you sorted out your issues. It was a dumb idea, making a deal with Asmodeus, but I get why you did it.” Then the kid pauses, looks up to glare darkly at Alec. “But if you hurt him like that again, I’ll make you pay for it, you won’t even see me coming.”

“Excuse me?” Alec exclaims, before turning quickly when he hears Magnus shuffling along the hallway, finds his lover dressed in his robe rubbing tiredly at his eyes, and dragging his feet along the ground. “I thought you were going to sleep longer.”

“I heard voices.” Magnus replies, pressing a kiss to Alec’s lips, before passing him and stepping into the living room, his face lighting up when he sees the teen. “Raphael! _Look at you_!” he yells, crossing quickly to stand in front of the teen, inspecting him, turning his face this way and that. “The glamour finally fell, huh?”

“Yeah, guess the magic finally ran out.” The teen answers, with a sigh. “Figured I better find somewhere to be before CPS decided to pick me up off the streets.” Magnus laughs at that and rolls his eyes.

“Well, you know you’re always welcome here, I’ll set your room up again for you. Besides, I’d have stolen you away from CPS within an hour of you being there, all you’d have to do was call.” Magnus promises, before reaching up to ruffle the teen’s hair. “I have missed seeing your adorable face!”

“Magnus!” Magnus laughs at the teen’s indignation, then he goes to the kitchen to start organising breakfast.

“Hey, you can eat food now, you hungry?” Magnus asks, looking up at Raphael with a grin, it only grows wider when Raphael nods. “What are you wanting?”

“You know, the only thing I really want is chocolate and ice-cream and-“

“And all the bad things you shouldn’t eat for breakfast.” Magnus scolds, with a laugh. “How about we have a full English breakfast, to introduce you to the fun of having really fatty, greasy foods first thing in the morning, and for lunch and dinner we can go and indulge on all the other foods that aren’t good for you?”

“You’re the boss!” Raphael answers, laughing. “I always knew you were a bad influence!”

“How dare!” Magnus exclaims, pressing his hand over his chest in mock affront. “I’ve never been so insulted.”

“I’m sure I believe that.” Raphael says, closing the book he was reading, setting it down on the coffee table and going to sit down at the dining table. “Please remember I’m not actually fourteen!”

“But you are, precious!” Magnus replies, with a chuckle as three plates of English breakfast appear on the table, Magnus dragging Alec along and pushing him down into one the seats, since his Shadowhunter is still staring between the both of them in mute confusion. “Physically, biologically, you’re fourteen again. Did you finish puberty before?”

“Oh.” Raphael groans, and buries his head in his hands. “I’m not coming back tonight; I’ll be off getting bitten.” He states, causing Magnus to laugh again.

“You’ll survive.” Magnus tells him, seating himself down and leaning over to ruffle Raphael’s hair again. “Just think… six… seven years and you’ll be allowed to drink alcohol in public!”

“Oh my god! Being fourteen again sucks!” Raphael snaps, angrily attacking his breakfast.

“Is someone going to explain what the hell is happening?” Alec finally exclaims, seemingly finding his voice. “Who is this? Why are we apparently adopting them?”

“You think you’re adopting me? That’s cute, Lightwood.” Raphael replies, causing Magnus to roll his eyes.

“Apologies, Alexander. You wouldn’t be able to recognize him this way.” Magnus says, leaning over the table to press the tips of his fingers to Raphael’s forehead, magic shining and suddenly Alec is looking at Raphael Santiago.

“Whoa.” Alec exclaims, when Magnus let’s go, the image immediately falling away to show the teenage Raphael again. “I don’t understand.”

“Raphael was turned when he was fourteen.” Magnus explains, playing with his food but not eating any of it.

“Magnus picked me up off the streets and raised me. When I got sick of his mother henning, I got a warlock to make me a perma-glamour and went to live at the Du Mort.” Raphael explains, before he smirks. “Magnus has already adopted me, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“The glamour has fallen?” Alec questions, finally making a move on his breakfast.

“It’s got nothing to hold onto to power it anymore.” Raphael answers, shrugging his shoulders. “Fuck, seven years?” he exclaims, a scowl forming on his face.

“Compared to a hundred, dearest.” Magnus points out, Raphael sighs but accedes the point.

After that, the trio quietly eat breakfast, Raphael every now and then complaining about being fourteen again when he realizes something else that he’s not going to be able to get away with. Magnus patiently pointing out that it’s only seven years, not forever, and when he’s eighteen, he can probably start faking anyway.

* * *

 

Raphael moving into the loft with them is weird, and seeing Raphael fighting with Magnus over alcohol privileges doesn't make things less odd.

“I’ll make an allowance for eighteen, but developmentally, you’re still too young!” Magnus argues, crossing his arms over his chest. “Your brain froze in development at fourteen, Raphael! The curse that turned you into a Vampire did a lot to compensate for what you didn’t already have, but that’s gone now. You’re fourteen again in every way that matters, your body will go through puberty, and your brain will continue to develop. If you want, I can get Cat here to explain everything to you in medical terms, but ultimately, no, you’re too young to drink alcohol, _or_ smoke, _or_ do drugs.”

“But I’m not fourteen!” Raphael whines, doing nothing to back up his argument.

“You are, Raphael.” Magnus argues, sighing heavily. “Experience wise, no, you’re not fourteen, I understand that. But your body and mind are, because that is where they were frozen in time since your turning.”

“This sucks!”

“Yes.” Magnus agrees without hesitation. “It does, but it’s only a few more years and then you’ll be free to do whatever you please. But, for now, you placed yourself back into my care, Raphael, I intend to honour the trust you placed in me and take care of you.”  

“Fine.”

* * *

 

Things become even more weird after their wedding, when Magnus comes home from his High Warlock duties one day with a bundle in his arms and announces that Raphael has a new sibling.

“What?” is the expected response from both Alec and the former vampire.

“Well, this little one has nowhere to go.” Magnus says, as if that explains everything, coming to sit between them on the couch and show off the loft’s newest resident.

“But shouldn’t we have discussed this first?” Alec asks, leaning forward over Magnus’ shoulder to look down into a pair of beautiful, green, slitted snake eyes that stare calmly and unblinking back at him. Suddenly Alec understands exactly what is fuelling Magnus’ desire to adopt this child.

“But Alexander, she has no one!” Magnus exclaims, gently, smiling down at the little girl and cooing at her. “She was just left abandoned on the streets, if it wasn’t for her magic, she would have died, we never would have found her.”

“I know, but babies are a lot of work, Magnus.” Alec replies, remembers the nightmare of when Max was a baby, and even then, he could give his brother back to his parents whenever he and Izzy got sick of interacting with the ball of screaming energy.

“I’m aware.” Magnus scoffs, rolling his eyes. “I have been around for eight hundred years, darling.”

“Can I hold her?” Raphael asks, a grin on his face. “And what’s her name?”

“I haven’t gotten that far yet.” Magnus admits, carefully passing the baby into Raphael’s arms, Raphael stands up, and starts walking around the loft with the baby, talking to her quietly in Spanish, his mother tongue. He’s absolutely taken with the child.

“Magnus-“

“Oh, please, Alexander? She has no-one.” Magnus begs, turning to look at Alec with pleading cat’s eyes. Alec stares into Magnus’ eyes, thinks of a little boy left out on the streets, all alone, with no one, left to fend for himself. Thinks of what would have happened if that little boy had been a defenceless baby, instead. Wonders if that boy would have even survived long enough for his father to find him, he highly doubts it. He sighs, knows Magnus has already won.

“Fine! But we’re choosing a name together, and we discuss this in future before you bring home anymore strays!”

“I love you!” Magnus exclaims, pressing a passionate kiss to his lips. “Let’s go look at baby names!”

Which is how Alec finds himself suddenly a father of two.

* * *

 

It’s four years later, when Raphael’s finally deemed old enough to be allowed to indulge in the alcohol with Magnus and Alec, and little Arya is just beginning to learn magic under Magnus’ teachings, that Magnus interrupts one of Alec’s meetings with a fire message.

_Arya and Raphael could do with a little brother and sister, yes/no? ~M_

Is the message, which Alec stares at for a moment before sighing and closing his eyes, pressing his hand to his forehead and breathing. Alec considers the question, determines Magnus can always add more space into the loft if needed, and there's no real reason not to accept, since Alec has been considering bringing up the question of adoption with Magnus, he'd just rather have more time to consider the situation.

_Yes, fine. I’ll be home soon to meet them. ~A_

He finally replies, before turning his attention back to his meeting and is promptly interrupted again.

_I think they’re unmarked Shadowhunters. ~M_

_We can check when I get home. ~A_

_Their names are Sarai and Ezra. They are three. They're just the cutest! ~M_

This is how Alec becomes a father of four, and Magnus proceeds to spend the rest of the meeting peppering Alec's phone with photos of the newest editions to the Lightwood-Bane household, along with commentary.

It doesn't ever really stop after that...

**Author's Note:**

> You know this keeps happening. Throughout the centuries (because I refuse to believe Alec doesn't find some way to immortal himself!), Magnus is just like 'can we keep them?!?!' with like a baby in his arms, or a child/teenager trailing behind him and Alec's like '*deep breathing* FINE!' He even comes home one day with like an actual adult and Alec is like 'they're already raised, Magnus!' and Magnus is like 'SO?!?!'


End file.
